The starting point for the architectural design was to develop and agree the brief with Russel Hayden. There were two halves to this:
what did I want to achieve in terms of energy efficiency?
how did I want to improve the layout of my bungalow?
Energy efficiency: Building a new home to Passivhaus standards is well-established and reasonably straightforward to achieve. However, retrofitting an existing building to meet the same standards can be extremely challenging. EnerPHit is the official standard for retrofitting existing homes following Passivhaus principles, with lower targets for insulation and air tightness that take into account the complexity of dealing with an existing building.
However, achieving EnerPHit certification is still demanding and can be costly, with diminishing energy improvement returns in relation to investments. I wanted to balance my spend on energy improvements with meaningful returns on that investment. The Association of Energy Conscious Building (AECB) has developed its own retrofit standards which achieve a realistic balance between cost and performance:
https://aecb.net/aecb-retrofit-standard/
Russel and I agreed that we would not design to full EnerPHit certification, and would design to AECB retrofit standards as a minimum.
Improving the layout: A deep retrofit provides an opportunity to improve the layout and appearance of the bungalow. The key areas of improvement for me are:
creating an open plan kitchen and dining area: I love to cook for friends, and a sociable space is important;
creating a direct connection from the living space to the garden, which is around 1.2m below the level of the bungalow. The access is currently awkwardly via the conservatory that was tacked onto the bungalow some time in the 1980s;
providing a good porch to the front door (who builds a house in rainy Kendal without a porch?); and
converting the garage (which is too small for modern cars) to provide a place for a plant/utility room and a gym (so I can get on my bike when it's raining .... again ....).
I'm very aware that - for an architect - having an architect as a client may be difficult. There's a risk that I tread on Russel's toes, and don't give him the freedom to develop the design. However, I like to think I make a good client - bringing strong opinions, but recognising my limitations in terms of expertise in this type of design. One thing that we both found very useful was for me to gather images of the sorts of design I like, so that Russel could understand what was in my mind. This was particularly helpful with the design challenge of steps. Creating a direct access to the garden is the most exciting non-energy efficiency part of the project.
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